This invention relates to an article of furniture which utilizes a support member having wire management capabilities, and more particularly to a table leg having a cable management system whereby cables or wires may be concealed and contained within the table leg.
As the number of work related devices requiring wires, cables, and electrical cords become more prevalent, the need for managing cable and wiring becomes more important. This increase of electrical, communication and computer equipment requires its associated support furniture to be located near electrical and communication outlets. One major problem associated with numerous wires, cables and electrical cords is the unsightly and cluttered view of tangled wires and cables. A disorganized and unsightly article of furniture is not only aesthetically unpleasing but also creates a disorganized and chaotic work area which decreases work production. In addition, tangled cables and wires present a safety hazard under and around equipment and its associated furniture either by tripping or from electric shock. Further, if a person accidently dislodges an exposed cable, it may compromise the data integrity being carried by that cable, or damage the equipment or the cable itself. Thus, there exists a need to safely and orderly manage wires, cables and cords by organizing and concealing them within an article of furniture to address these types of issues.
Articles of furniture having wire management capabilities are known in the art. The articles include a variety of table or desk legs having open channels in which to run electrical or communication wires. One problem associated with the prior art is that the wires are often threaded through an opening on the desk or table top and then through the leg in order to reach the floor. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,935 to Newhouse, U.S. Pat. No. 4,296,981 to Hildebrandt and U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,761 to Frattini. These prior art patents disclose cable management systems that are both complicated and cumbersome to use as equipment is continually updated or removed from the article of furniture. Other prior art patents disclose channel assemblies for wire management in a table leg, which show the wire being threaded through a channel which extends the entire length of the table leg. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,874 to Palmer, cable extends out of openings at both the upper and lower ends of a leg assembly, and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,028 to Pfister, cable exits a channel in a leg at both an upper access opening and lower access opening. While Pfister does provide a spring biased door to allow access to a cable channel in a leg, the door biasing arrangement is awkward to manipulate in use, which can be especially troublesome when the person seeking access to the cavity is working underneath a table or within some other confined and relatively inaccessible area.
The present invention is a support member for use with an article of furniture which has cable management capabilities. The support member, such as a leg member, is elongate with a substantially circular lateral cross-section. The leg member is defined by a wall to form an elongate inner cavity therein. The wall has a slot therethrough providing access to the inner cavity. The slot has first and second ends where each end of the slot is spaced from its respective end of the elongate leg member. An access panel is hingedly attached to the support member to cover only an intermediate portion of the slot. The access panel is moveable between a closed position and an open position. In the closed position, the access panel limits access to the inner cavity through the intermediate portion of the slot. In the closed position, the respective ends of the access panel and the slot collectively define a lateral opening into the inner cavity at each end of the slot. The access panel is spring biased to the closed position. The access panel is movable to the open position by pushing the access panel inward which allows access to the inner cavity through the slot. Once access is provided to the inner cavity, cable may be placed within the inner cavity to be contained and concealed within the leg member.